ouisville, Ky., March l7-21, l999 - "She" was dancing with a guy at a large, gay disco in Louisville. One of the ‘girls’ at the convention in a gorgeous black dress and a big, feathered, wide brim hat. During her Texas two-step waltzing, it fell off - and her partner, the guy, picked it up, put it on.himself. Then off they waltzed without a pause among gays, lesbians, and TGs. Now that’s magic !!
Being in drag for five days, dressing for breakfast, being on city streets, day and night, going to ‘civilian’ restaurants and meeting other Gender People, are all what a convention is all about. It tells you what your own limits might be (like dressing during the day). It instills confidence and makes crossdressing real, not fantasy. This includes seemingly small events like using the ladies room or going into a store.
Because this was a working convention, it was small, with about l00 girls in attendance.
The IFGE had its Annual Board Meeting. At the meeting the group went about the business of electing board members and a new Chairperson (Pam Geddes, a Miss Firecracker type from Toronto).
There were some fascinating seminars, for example an F2M sherriff’s deputy from Tampa spoke on dealing with the police (briefly: tell the truth if you’re stopped; carry your male ID at all times, and dressing usually isn’t a problem)....and a very graphic SRS slide show by Dr. Eugene Schrang.
There were banquets with the usual endless congatulatory speeches, (which I usually avoided). And there was our Chair Kristine James who literally and singlehandedly held together the business side of the whole meeting, with a little help from Rochelle Nicole and me. She also introduced us to the inner workings of the Convention and IFGE, a subject worthy of another article.
Total cost for me: registration of $l80, a shared room, my share $225, airfare of $240, incidentals another $l50..yes a 5 day getaway that costs $800..real money, but less than you’d spend on a trip to Florida or the Caribbean. (And a lot less than ongoing gender counselling with some of the same effects in a more pleasurable way).
By the way, Louisville is a liberated gender town, with a recently-enacted municipal gender discrimination law. The city has a huge gay-lesbian-TG population and plenty of clubs and restaurants, like the above mentioned Nirvana and Connections clubs.
Yes, there are still problems: a group of six IFGE girls went out shopping at a J.C. Penney and wanted to try on clothes. Being too many and some far from passable, they were asked to leave. My own opinion is that they just weren’t prudent. Too many, a Saturday afternoon with too many teenagers around, and not passable. Wrong time. Wrong place. Wrong look.
[Ed. Note: Even with all that, the management at Penney’s could have handled things in a more congenial manner; perhaps they didn’t want to sell clothing?]
Why go to a convention..Southern Comfort in Atlanta in September..or Fantasia Fair in Provincetown in October...or IFGE next year? Why? Because as crossdressing becomes a less fetishy, more serious part of your life, this is a safe, economic way for self-discovery..learning your own limits: from others, from yourself, and from the circumstances of interacting with the civilian world, especially during the day.
This was my 3rd Convention in 3 years. And then, just think of those little epiphanies, those magic moments when a waitress calls you ma’am or when your feathered hat falls off and your partner puts it on and you both dance happily off into the sunset (and those around you just smile)!
As a group, CDI more than held its own in terms of membership and meeting size, newsletter (many knowing Joann online or from past issues) and the webpage. One Tennessee group has 200 hits a day after 2 years online; CDI has l00 plus after just 6 months! (Congratulations Vicki !!) If seeing or being in those magic moments appeals to you, think about joining CDI at Fantasia Fair in October, where we plan to book an entire Bed and Breakfast just for us !!
